Helicopters, oyster boats, and barges called in to save rare raptors from extinction. Artificial nesting platforms are installed at key coastal sites across South Australia to help the eastern osprey breed after the population dropped to just 50 pairs of birds.

Scientists discover first algae that can fix nitrogen — thanks to a tiny cell structure.

Giant kangaroos once roamed Australia. New fossils suggest they moved more like T. rex than Skippy. Scientists are piecing together a picture of how Australia's extinct giant kangaroos moved.

Procoptodon goliah disappeared around 40,000 years ago. This huge stubby-faced species tipped the scales at 240 kilograms — that's two-and-a-half times the weight of the heftiest contemporary red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) — and stood 2 metres tall.

NZ's smallest bird may be a missing link in the evolution of birdsong. Scientists used to think birds were split into two groups: those that learn or imitate sounds, and those that can't. But a tiny wren from Aotearoa New Zealand bridges the two.

"Historic homecoming": New York's The Met returns 14 looted sculptures to Cambodia. The sculptures were looted from the country during a period of war and unrest and their return is like welcoming home the souls of ancestors, Cambodia's culture minister says.

This Is The First Animal Ever Found That Doesn't Need Oxygen to Survive. In 2020, scientists discovered a jellyfish-like parasite that doesn't have a mitochondrial genome – the first multicellular organism ever found with such an absence. That means it doesn't breathe; in fact, it lives its life completely free of oxygen dependency.

Life started to develop the ability to metabolize oxygen - that is, respirate - sometime over 1.45 billion years ago. A larger archaeon engulfed a smaller bacterium, and somehow the bacterium's new home was beneficial to both parties, and the two stayed together. That symbiotic relationship resulted in the two organisms evolving together, and eventually those bacteria ensconced within became organelles called mitochondria. Every cell in your body except red blood cells has large numbers of mitochondria, and these are essential for the respiration process. They break down oxygen to produce a molecule called adenosine triphosphate, which multicellular organisms use to power cellular processes. We know there are adaptations that allow some organisms to thrive in low-oxygen, or hypoxic, conditions. Some single-celled organisms have evolved mitochondria-related organelles for anaerobic metabolism; but the possibility of exclusively anaerobic multicellular organisms had been the subject of some scientific debate. That was, until a team of researchers led by Dayana Yahalomi of Tel Aviv University in Israel decided to take another look at a common salmon parasite called Henneguya salminicola.

Kiwi actor Rachel House is much-loved as a star of Taika Waititi movies. Now she's making her own. Rachel House is one of New Zealand's best-loved actors. Now she's bringing her comedic chops and Māori heritage to directing.

These termite hills have been active for over 34,000 years — and they hold a snapshot of South Africa's ancient climate. Researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine some termite mounds in an arid region were about 34,000 years old.

Ancient hunting scene in an Indonesian cave is the oldest-known evidence of visual storytelling. The discovery of red pigment paintings daubed on the walls of a secluded Sulawesi cave about 51,000 years ago also provides the oldest evidence of our species, Homo sapiens, in the region, according to a new study.

Diver forms months-long friendship with octopus in town rock pool (this is not the diver from the Netflix show.) Scott Gutterson formed a friendship with the animal based on trust, mutual intrigue and a lot of touchy-feely arms.

Potentially habitable planet size of Earth discovered 40 light years away.

Nature's ghosts: how reviving medieval farming offers wildlife an unexpected haven. Agriculture is often seen as the enemy of biodiversity, but in an excerpt from her new book Sophie Yeo explains how techniques from the middle ages allow plants and animals to flourish.

Beachcombers Discover Rare, Deep-Sea Anglerfish Washed Up on Oregon Coast. (Smithsonian Magazine.) Most humans will never see a Pacific footballfish, as the creatures live at depths of 2000 to 3300 feet below the ocean's surface.

In Italy's Alps, scientists turn to tropical butterflies to solve biodiversity crisis. Butterflies are flying free in a picturesque forest recently created in the Italian Alps to help with biodiversity research.

A European wild cat was nearly extinct. Now, it is making a comeback. The Iberian lynx is no longer classified as endangered, with one group calling it the "greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved through conservation."

In 2002 there were only about 60 adult Iberian lynx in Portugal and Spain, and the species was labeled "critically endangered." After a lot of hard work, there are now more than 2000 young and adult Iberian lynx on the Iberian Peninsula.

"If you shoot him, I'll shoot you": The hostage who made sure Ned Kelly survived his last stand. Constable Hugh Bracken, who insisted the infamous bushranger be captured alive, has been shunned by history. Now there's a push to honour his actions.

Fruit tree netting that can entangle flying foxes and birds now banned in Canberra backyards. Fruit tree netting with large holes is now prohibited in Canberra backyards, with residents facing fines of up to $800 if caught using it. Netting must now have a mesh size of 5mm by 5mm or smaller.

Thick atmosphere discovered around super-Earth in nearby solar system.

Why this sunken island is changing the way we think about myths. Legend has it a jealous husband used a wave curse to sink Teonimenu into the ocean forever. Scientists have worked out what really happened.

A desire for a loud car with a modified muffler is predicted by being a man and higher scores on psychopathy and sadism.

How this remote Indigenous community has reduced every resident's power bill by 70 per cent. An Indigenous-owned solar farm, the first to be connected to a power grid, has been opened in the Northern Territory remote community of Marlinja.

The forgotten political warrior whose letter to King George V helped Aboriginal kids back into schools. A woman whose great-grandmother refused to give up on better access to education says acknowledgement of her family's New South Wales south coast healing place has brought a sense of justice.

In 1926, a Yuin woman from Moruya on the NSW south coast sat down to pen a letter to the King. Jane Duren was writing to King George V asking for her grandchildren to be allowed to attend Batemans Bay Public School. That letter, signed and stamped, would be received by Buckingham Palace, endorsed by the Australian Governor-General, and end up as an important artefact of cultural change in the state's archives. "I beg to state that it is months and months since those children were at school and it is a shame to see them going about without education," she wrote. "Your Majesty, we have compulsory education. Why are they not compelled to attend school?" Up until the 1970s, an Indigenous student could be removed from a school if a non-Indigenous parent complained. Ms Duren thought that ridiculous — and she had written as much in previous letters — to the Minister of Education, the Child Welfare Department, her local Member of Parliament, and the Aborigines Protection Board, but with no outcome. This letter, however, would have a different fate. Buckingham Palace forwarded the letter to the Governor-General who endorsed the letter and sent it to the NSW state government, which in turn passed it onto the Aborigines Protection Board — about whom Ms Duren was complaining.

Inmates nurse injured wildlife to health in prison program. A regional Victorian prison program training inmates to rehabilitate injured native wildlife is giving more than just the animals a second chance.

The UK's second-biggest city is so broke they can no longer keep the lights on. Birmingham was once a powerhouse industrial city but now the UK's second city is a shell of its former self as rubbish lines the streets, the lights stay out and children grow up below the poverty line.

Once nicknamed "the workshop of the world", Birmingham was an industrial powerhouse in the 18th and 19th centuries. It's where William Murdoch invented the first gas lantern, a technology later used to light streets across the world. But today the UK's second-largest city can no longer afford to keep its own streets brightly lit. In September Birmingham City Council issued a 114 notice, effectively declaring it was bankrupt. To claw back $600 million over the next two years, the council has approved a range of unprecedented budget cuts that will see streetlights dimmed and rubbish collected only once a fortnight. The cuts will also see 25 of the city's libraries close, money for children's services slashed and a 100 per cent funding cut to the arts and culture sector by 2026.